Capital repairs fund heads to special meeting

By GEORGE AUSTIN

Comment

southcoasttoday.com

Writer

Posted Feb. 20, 2013 at 2:45 PM

Posted Feb. 20, 2013 at 2:45 PM

» Social News

By GEORGE AUSTIN

Editor

SOMERSET — The bricks on the north side of the Town Office Building need to be repointed because there is actually water infiltrating the inside of the building, according to Selectman Donald Setters, Jr. He says the windows of the building are in poor condition and need to be replaced and the roof of the building, the bulk of it 75 years old, should be addressed in the next few years.

These are some of the reasons why the selectmen will be asking the voters at next Monday's special town meeting to approve of a new fund that will be used for capital repairs and improvements to government buildings. The maintenance fund would not be for school buildings. The board last week decided that it will ask the voters to start out the fund with $500,000. That money will come out of the $5.3 million in free cash, which is money left over from budgets from previous years and unanticipated revenue.

"I stress that this money is not to be used for regular maintenance items," Mr. Setters said. "It's absolutely for capital improvements."

The special town meeting will start at 7 p.m. next Monday, Feb. 25, in the auditorium of Somerset Berkley Regional High School. The article that would establish the capital repair and improvement fund is one of eight articles that residents will be asked to vote on at the town meeting.

As the town has been losing money from some of its largest taxpayers over the years, Mr. Setters said capital projects on town buildings have been deferred in order to save money. But as the town has done that, he said the buildings are crumbling as a result of the lack of attention to them.

Mr. Setters said the roof is an example of something the town may want to do something about before it becomes a problem and costs the taxpayers more money.

Other problems that Mr. Setters said need to be addressed is the parking lot at the Town Office Building, the deteriorating roof on the stone building at the Somerset Village Waterfront Park, as well as the rotting fascia boards and overhang of that building.

Mr. Setters said the town is facing some tough economic times with a significant amount of money lost from some of its largest taxpayers and that having such a capital fund will allow the town to address problems before they worsen and cost taxpayers more money than they should. He said some of the problems the town currently has to address will cost two or three times more than they would have if they were taken care of earlier.

"We can not operate like this anymore," Mr. Setters said.

In the past, when the town has wanted capital projects done, articles would be put on the town meeting warrant, asking for a certain amount of money for a certain purpose, rather than having a general account for such projects.

Mr. Setters said he was originally thinking that the capital fund should be established with $1 million, but he agreed to the $500,000 because he wants there to be as little argument as possible at the town meeting. The Advisory and Finance Committee has voted to recommend that the town put no more than $500,000 in the fund.

"The town should have done this many, many years ago," Mr. Setters said.

Voters will also be asked to approve of putting $2.6 million of the free cash into the town's stabilization fund. That amount of money would replace the $2 million that was taken from the stabilization account this fiscal year to lessen the tax impact on residents and businesses and the $600,000 that was taken from the account last year for the same reason. Selectmen Chairman Patrick O'Neil has said he would like to use whatever money is left over from free cash after the special town meeting to further lessen the tax impact on residents and businesses. Residents and businesses have seen a significant tax increase this past year, mostly because of the decrease in value of the Brayton Point power plant and the loss in revenue from the property on Riverside Avenue where another power plant used to operate. The stabilization fund was set up many years ago in case the town did lose a lot of money from the power plants. Voters at the special town meeting will also be asked to approve $30,000 for expert consultants and legal services related to related to valuation of the power plant property.

Voters will also be asked to approve of funding to replace the Town Office Building elevator and also for some environmental cleanup work that may have to be done as a result of hydraulic fluid leaking from it. The town has had to hold public meetings in other places because of handicapped accessibility problems that are presented as a result of the elevator being out of order.

Town meeting voters will also be asked to approve of the town putting 14.2 acres of land it owns off of Route 6 up for sale. In 2000, town meeting voters approved of putting a little less than half of that land up for sale. The property is zoned for a limited business use, for things like office buildings. In the past, there had been a medical office building proposed for the site. Town Administrator Dennis Luttrell has said he has received interest in the land from potential buyers.

Voters will also be asked to approve of a new bylaw for second hand dealers and collectors. The bylaw will require such dealers who are reselling items they buy from people who come into their businesses to provide information and photographs of the items to the Police Department in an effort to solve crimes and prevent items from being stolen. Precious metals and precious gems are covered in that bylaw. The bylaw was proposed by Police Chief Joseph Ferreira.